Method for making lead-acid jars and cells and batteries using such jars

ABSTRACT

A method for making a plurality of lead-acid cells requiring a constant width, a height varying from a maximum to a minimum to accommodate plates of varying height and a cell depth to accommodate a minimum to a maximum number of plates is disclosed which utilizes blow molding to form a jar precursor which is cut to the height desired, and, in its preferred aspects, including use of a mold and insert sets which simplify tooling and change-over time, as well as a cover and jar design which simplifies the heat sealing of these components.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/741,908, now U.S. Pat.No. 5,788,719.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to lead-acid cells and batteries and, moreparticularly, to jars used in making such cells and batteries and to themethod of making such grids and plates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A wide variety of applications, often termed "industrial battery"applications, utilize conventional, flooded electrolyte lead-acid cellsand batteries, or sealed lead-acid cells and batteries, often term VRLAcells and batteries ("valve-regulated lead-acid"). In stationary batteryapplications, the lead-acid cells and batteries provide stand-by powerin the event of a power failure. For this type of application, suchcells and batteries are maintained at a full state-of-charge and in aready-to-use condition, typically by floating at a constant presetvoltage. Stationary batteries are used for stand-by or operational powerin a wide variety of applications, including, by way of illustration,telecommunications, utilities, for emergency lighting in commercialbuildings, as stand-by power for cable television systems, and inuninterruptible power supplies for computer back-up power and the like.

Other applications in which lead-acid cells and batteries may be usedinvolve a variety of motive power applications in which an array ofcells or batteries provides the motive power for vehicles ranging fromClass 1 to Class 3 trucks, various automated guided vehicles, miningvehicles and also railroad locomotives. The performance requirements formotive-power vehicles are quite different from the performancerequirements for stationary power sources. In stationary powerapplications, the depth of discharge in service is relatively shallow,and the number of discharges is smaller, as most batteries are in floatservice. In direct contrast, motive power applications require arelatively deep depth of discharge to be achieved on a continuouscycling basis over a period of time. Indeed, a common requirement forClass 1-3 trucks is that, in an 8-hour shift, the cell or batteryassembly must be capable of delivering an 80% depth of discharge andthat performance is required for 300 cycles per year with a usefulservice life under those conditions of 4 or 5 years.

The widely varying requirements for these many applications haspresented substantial problems to manufacturers of lead-acid cells andbatteries. These requirements have presented an extremely challengingenvironment for lead-acid cell and battery manufacturers. Thisenvironment has resulted in, to a large extent, custom designs whichsatisfy particular applications.

As a consequence, lead-acid cell/battery manufacturers have had todevelop families of cells and batteries in an attempt to satisfy thediverse electrical performance criteria. Such criteria vary widely,often requiring large cells connected in parallel, series, or both, toprovide a satisfactory power/energy source.

The space requirements often are also quite constricted, with closelydefined dimensional requirements. Many types of steel trays and the likeare used.

To achieve the family of cells and batteries requires grids of varioussizes so that the capacity and other electrical performance requirementsfor an individual cell for a particular application can be satisfied.One approach utilized has been to provide a series of grids havingessentially constant width while varying the height of an individualgrid and the number of plates used in a particular cell to achieve avariety of capacity and other electrical performance requirements.

The inventory and manufacturing requirements to provide the necessaryfamily of cells are difficult to satisfy. Molding tool costs can becomeexcessive. Changeover time from one size to another can detractsignificantly from desired productivity.

One attempt to minimize the tooling required involves injection moldingtwo halves which are then heat-sealed together, the seal extending downboth sides and across the cell, to provide the cell container (oftentermed a "jar"). In this fashion, jar halves may be injection molded invarying lengths while the other dimensions remain the same, therebyaccommodating a variety of plate sizes each of which have a constantwidth, simply by varying the height of the jar.

While simplifying the tooling requirements, yet producing a family oflead-acid cells, the heat sealing step required can present problems.More particularly, not only does this involve extra steps, increasingthe manufacturing cost, this heat sealing operation provides apotentiality for creating areas where electrolyte leakage could possiblyoccur. Additionally, the heat sealing operation can release molded-instress which causes distortion of the jar walls and resulting in anout-of-square jar. Such out-of-square jars do not satisfactorily matchthe cover heat seal channels typically used in an automated operation inassembling the cover and jar, resulting in potential cover leaks and thelike. Even further, the resulting heat seal beads on the jars requireflattening for cosmetic and other reasons, but such flatteningoperations still often result in unduly thick heat seal bead section.

Still further, in the steel trays often used to house the many cellstypically required, such trays require use of jars having uniform outerdimensions. Achieving such uniformity typically requires eliminating theheat seal beads resulting from sealing the cover to the jar to providethe desired outer dimensional uniformity.

Additionally, as previously noted, the cells required for manyapplications are extremely large and quite heavy. It would be highlydesirable to provide a jar that accommodates lifting of the cell byappropriate equipment while still satisfying the other criteria.

Blow molding technology is also known and suggested for various specificapplications. U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,826 to Kendall thus discloses a motivepower battery casing which is blow molded in an oblong configurationwith a rectangular cross-section, as is shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b of the'826 patent.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,021 and 5,209,991 to Stocchiero show additional cellcontainers and lids using certain blow molding technology. The '021Stocchiero patent concerns a configuration which is stated to solve theproblems related to the trimming of a heat sealed bead which formsitself on the inside and not on the outside of the cell container. Thisimprovement, it is stated, was made possible by two factors andprecisely by (1) the particular conformation of the cell-lid and of thecell-container's rim provided with a male-female mating remaining withthe standard overall-dimensions and (2) by the extremely reducedthickness of the cell-container's walls and that of the cell-lid's rim,reduced to more than a half in comparison to the ones generally used(col. 1, 11. 55-65). Blow-forming is used to form the cell-container,permitting extremely reduced thickness of the walls of the container incomparison to use of a thermoplastic molding process (col. 2, 11. 3-13).

The '991 patent to Stocchiero discloses a container for lead-acidbatteries having essentially vertical walls with each wall having aplurality of internal and external perimetric recesses having the samepitch. These recesses are stated to permit the lengthening of the wallsof the container when these walls are subject to traction.Advantageously, and according to the invention, it is stated that theproduction costs can be decreased by blow molding, as well as providingsavings due to the lower production costs of the molds.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,135,823 and 5,240,788 to Eales disclose blow molded,multiple compartment plastic containers. These multiple compartmentcontainers are said to be useful for applications such as bottles andthe like, and/or multi-celled batteries, and multi-component products,including foods and non-edibles.

Despite all of the prior interest in various configurations using blowmolding technology for specific lead-acid battery applications and thedifficulties experienced in employing injection molding technology tosatisfy the wide requirements for lead-acid cells, neither a methodologynor a satisfactory configuration has been proposed to solve thesesignificant problems. Thus, despite all of this prior work, the problemsdiscussed herein continue to exist.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to providecommercially viable methodology for making jar precursors which can beused to make a family of jars of widely varying size to accommodate therequirements of various industrial cell/battery applications whilesimplifying the tooling and molding requirements.

A further object provides such a method which achieves a one-piece jarfor lead-acid cells and not requiring any jar heat seals other than thecover-jar heat seal itself. A related and more specific object achievessuch jars which are relatively free from distortion, thereby minimizing,if not eliminating, out-of-square jars that complicate the heat sealingoperation of the cover to such jars.

Yet another object provides a one-piece jar having uniform wallthickness and the ability to alter the internal jar dimensions asdesired.

A still further object provides a one-piece cell jar having structurewhich allows the cell to be readily lifted by automated equipment, yetwhich does not detract from the other criteria that must be satisfied.

Another object of the present invention provides a cover-jar design thatsatisfies the criteria described herein while simplifying the cover-jarsealing operation. A more specific aspect lies in the provision of acover design which facilitates guiding the cover into proper alignmentfor such sealing operation.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds. While the presentinvention will be described primarily with respect to use in sealed andflooded electrolyte lead-acid cells, the present invention can beadvantageously used in any application for a single cell where a seriesof containers are needed to accommodate various cell sizes, regardlessof the electrochemical system involved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is, in general, predicated on the discovery thatblow molding may be utilized in a selected fashion to achieve a familyof jar sizes so as to significantly minimize manufacturing and inventoryrequirements. In general, common tooling is used to provide a one-piecejar precursor that can be cut to the height required to accommodatevarious applications while maintaining a constant jar width dimensionand selecting a depth to accommodate the required number of plates.Still further, the outer dimensions can be maintained while reducing theinternal dimensions, as necessary, to satisfy the desired plate-to-platespacing, and, where appropriate, the level of compression necessary. Amore preferred embodiment provides a jar having structure which allowsthe completed cell to be lifted, and moved as desired, by automatedequipment and the like. Another aspect of the preferred embodimentcomprises a cover and jar design which facilitates appropriate alignmentfor a heat seal operation while eliminating the need to undertaketrimming or other operations to remove any heat seal bead which wouldprovide a non-uniform outer cell dimension. Still further, by utilizingblow molds having inserts that allow the depth of the jar to be altered,the method of making a family of jar sizes is simplified. In thisfashion, a wide variety of applications can be accommodated whilerequiring only a minimum of tooling and change-over time. The resultingjars likewise obviate the many potential problems resulting frommultiple-piece jars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a jar precursor employed in the presentinvention, prior to being cut to the desired height for the particularcell jar;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a cell jar cut from the jar precursor ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view and illustrates a blow mold withinserts that further simplify the mold equipment needed to provide jarsfor a family of cells tailored to satisfy the criteria of a specificapplication;

FIG. 4 is a partial side elevation view and showing a preferred coverand jar design which simplifies the heat sealing of the cover and jar;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-section of one wall of another embodiment of ajar precursor according to this invention and illustrating anothermethod by which the cell jar shown in FIG. 4 can be made;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a jar wallaccording to one embodiment of this invention, and showing an internalconfiguration suitable for maintaining the desired plate-to-platespacing and providing satisfactory wall stiffness;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 6 andillustrating a rib design suitable for plate-to-plate spacing, or for abridge on the jar bottom; and

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a lead-acid cell of the presentinvention, the cell jar being partially broken away to show the internalcomponents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Pursuant to the present invention, the blow mold tooling used is sizedto provide a maximum first height for the particular application. Then,the blow molded jar precursor is cut to a second height to make the jarto house the particular, preselected plates necessary to provide thedesired electrical capacity. In this fashion, a family of cells may beprovided having significantly varying electrical capacities, yet using asingle mold. As illustrative examples only, many industrial applicationsutilize plates having heights ranging anywhere from about 12 inches toabout 26 inches or so. In this example, the original size jar precursor.would have the width and depth desired to fit the particular spatial andcapacity requirements for the application, and the original height ofthe jar precursor would be sufficient to allow cutting to a jaraccommodating plates having a height of 26 inches. The jar precursor iscut to provide the desired sized cell, i.e., cut in height sufficientlyto accommodate plates down to 12 inches in height or even less. To thisend, FIG. 1 shows the jar precursor 10 of the present invention havingan original height, H₁, which is adequate to accommodate, after cuttingto form the cell jar, the tallest plates desired for the family ofcells.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, cell jarstructure is desired to maintain the outer dimensions constant whiledecreasing somewhat the internal dimensions. More particularly, thespace requirements, and thus the outer dimensions of a cell are oftenfixed, yet such fixed outer dimensions yield internal space for the cellelement (i.e., the plates and separators) which is in excess of thatrequired. However, for conventional flooded electrolyte cells,satisfactory performance requires satisfactory plate-to-plate spacing.The extra internal space often has been filled by using separatorshaving a thickness greater than that which would be otherwise requiredfor the application. The use of such separators has added significantadditional expense and reduced performance, as well as not being atotally satisfactory solution.

To this end, and as is shown in FIG. 1, several series of spacedindentations 12 are provided along the height dimension of the jarprecursor 10. These indentations 12 allow a uniform outer dimension tobe maintained while providing a reduced depth for the cell element.Thus, as best seen in FIG. 2, the indentations 12 protrude into thecell. The extent to which the cell depth is reduced is determined by thedesired thickness, or depth, of the cell element. In this fashion,satisfactory plate-to-plate spacing is achieved without the need toutilize excessively thick, and more expensive, separators.

Since the jar precursor 10 will be cut to the height desired for thenecessary jar size, designated as H₂ in FIG. 2, the indentations 12 mustbe appropriately spaced along the height dimension of the two opposingjar walls defining the cell jar depth (i.e., the walls which areparallel to the plates) so that the desired location is retained aftercutting the jar precursor to size. This may be achieved by molding incontinuous indentations, or by having several separate series as isshown in FIG. 1.

Yet another aspect of the preferred embodiment of this inventionincludes internally disposed lifting ledges 14. Such lifting ledges 14allow the assembled cell to be readily moved by automated equipment asdesired.

The illustrative embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, locates thelifting ledges 14 on the jar walls also including indentations 12. Itwill, of course, be desirable to configure the lifting ledges 14complemental to indentations 12 so as not to alter the desiredplate-to-plate spacing. This requires that the inwardly extendinglifting ledges 14 not extend into the cell depth past indentation 12.

Also, since jar precursor 10 will be cut to form cell jars 16 ofdifferent sizes, the utilization of lifting ledges requires provision ofa series of such ledges located along the height dimension of the jarprecursor walls defining the cell depth. In this connection, it may bepreferred to utilize several series of indentations, rather than acontinuous single series, in order to facilitate proper location forcutting to the various cell jar sizes. Stated differently, by usingspaced series of lifting ledges and indentations, it becomes clear wherethe cuts should be made to provide the various sized jars.

The number of plates required for a jar of a selected height may varyanywhere from, for example, 7 to about 31 or more. Accordingly, toolingis needed to provide a jar depth to accommodate anywhere from 7 to 31plates. Accommodating this widely varying cell size presentsparticularly difficult manufacturing and inventory concerns. This couldrequire several different molds, each of which is relatively expensive,substantially increasing the necessary capital costs. Even further, thechangeover time when a different mold needs to be put in place and usedcreates potentially significant productivity issues.

A still further aspect of the present invention thus utilizes a blowmold having a series of insert pairs that allow a single blow mold to beused, yet allow jars with greatly varying jar depths to be manufacturedso that a minimum to a maximum number of plates can be accommodated.Pursuant to this feature, blow mold halves are provided with sets ofinsert pairs, each pair designed to yield a jar having the depth desiredfor a different number of plates.

Thus, as seen in FIG. 3, mold halves 20 and one insert pair 22, whichtogether form the blow hole 24 that accommodates the parison tube (notshown), form the composite mold.

As may be appreciated, the mold halves may be used without such insertpairs, if desired. This may be desirable, for example, when the minimumjar depth is needed. Any blow hole in such molding halves could beclosed off when the depth of the jar is such that inserts are used.

In this fashion, while maintaining a constant jar width and cutting thejar precursor height as desired for the cell jar, the cell depth may bevaried to accommodate anywhere from a minimum number of plates to amaximum number of plates, simply by varying the size of the insert pairselected, i.e., with varying insert thickness, the mold depth is therebyincreased. The expense associated with the use of the insert pairs issubstantially less than the cost of providing a family of molds withvarying depths, and changeover to provide a cell jar of a differentdepth is simplified. The inserts may thus be unbolted and removed andanother insert pair attached, all without removing the mold halves.

As may be appreciated, the inserts 22 can be attached to the mold halves20 by any suitable means, such as bolts or the like. Further, inserts 22can be made with water cooling channels communicating with such channelsused in the mold halves, as is known.

As may be appreciated, the insert thickness will be selected to providethe desired cell depth. As an illustrative example, the thickness ofeach insert may be about 3/8 inch to add two plates and 3/4 inch to addfour plates in comparison to the number plates in the base cell jarsize. The number of plates that can be added in this fashion will bedecided principally by the cooling requirements. Thus, up to a certainthickness, the inserts may be used without regard to supplementing thecooling efficiency of the composite mold. However, the use of thickerinserts to provide jars of greater depth may will require supplementingthe cooling required for molding the particular jar, as by designing inwater cooling, or bubbling channels into these thicker inserts.

Such constraints may make it more desirable, and perhaps necessary, toutilize more than one mold and a common set of inserts to provide celljars accommodating the full range of the numbers of plates for thefamily of cell sizes (e.g., 7 to 31 plates). In such an event, theparticular molds selected should provide a jar depth accommodating aspaced range of plates, e.g., one mold used for 7 plates, one for 15 andone for 23. The insert sets would then be used for jar depths to providethe jar depths for the plate requirements interim to the adjacent-sizedmolds, e.g., for 9, 11 and 13 in the first mold series, and 17, 19 and21 in the second series. However, whether one or more than one mold isused, the use of insert sets offers substantial advantage in comparisonto the necessity of using a different mold set for each varying platerequirement due to the reduced capital costs and the simplifiedchangeover.

Yet another aspect of the present invention includes, in a preferredembodiment, a cover and cell jar structure which avoids trimming of thebead resulting from joining the cover to the jar, and in a still morepreferred embodiment, includes guide structure which facilitates movingthe cover into proper alignment when using automated heat-seal equipmentand the like. To this end, and as is shown in FIG. 4, jar 16 includes aninwardly stepped upper wall 30. Cover 32 is provided with a skirt 34complementally dimensioned to provide an outer dimension identical tothat of the jar 16. The heat seal bead, formed as indicated at 36, canstill flow into open areas 38 and 40 without altering the desireduniformity of the outside dimensions. In this fashion, the trimming orthe like to remove a heat seal bead which would otherwise impair theouter dimensions of the cell, thereby, for example, undesirably alteringthe desired fit in a steel tray, is eliminated.

A further aspect of this invention provides a cover guide thatfacilitates proper alignment when conventionally used heat sealingequipment is employed. To this end, cover guide 42 is provided, havingangled surface 44 that cooperates with the upper wall surface of the jar16 to insure that cover 32 is guided into proper alignment for the heatsealing operation.

As may be appreciated, as was the case with the indentations 12 andlifting ledges 14, since the jar precursor 10 is to be cut to make celljars of various heights, use of this preferred cover-jar design requiresproper location on what will become the upper wall of the cut cell jar.This may be achieved by molding into the jar precursors 10 the necessarystepped portion along the jar precursor height dimension, as is shown at46 in FIG. 1.

However, if desired, all or some of the walls could be converted to thenecessary configuration after being cut to the desired jar height.Suitable techniques for forming the necessary stepped upper walls in thecut cell jars include thermoforming or the like.

Still further, the respective areas of the jar precursor which wouldcomprise the upper jar walls of each of the cut cell jars could bemolded with thickened areas, machined out to provide the inwardlystepped upper walls after the jar precursor is cut to the desired celljar height. To this end, as shown in FIG. 5, a jar wall 50 has spaced,thickened areas 52, dimensioned to provide after machining the desiredstepped upper walls.

FIG. 6 shows a preferred design which provides both a wall stiffeningribbing as well as internal protuberances or ribbing. Thus, the wallsinclude ribbing 60 and internal protuberances 62. The internalprotuberances can be configured to achieve the desired plate spacing.

FIG. 7 shows another aspect of the present invention. As is thus shown,the walls of the jar 16 have been blow molded in a ribbing pattern asshown at 70. In this fashion, proper plate spacing is provided.

The ribbing or bridge pattern illustrated herein is merely exemplary ofa desirable pattern to satisfy the objectives as discussed herein. Anyribbing pattern may be utilized which is adequate to satisfy theobjective described.

VRLA cells require uniform compression of the cell element in the jar soas to provide the desired electrical performance. Accordingly, anyribbing, lifting ledges, or other internally disposed protuberances(e.g., to provide a stepped upper wall for the cell jar) should beconfigured so as not to adversely affect the appropriate compressionrequired. Indeed, many VRLA applications may dictate that the internaldimensions of the jar for the wall portions up to the plate height beuniform. In these applications, indentations would not be used; and thelocation of any lifting ledges would have to insure the desireduniformity, while requiring the stepped jar upper walls (at least on thewalls in contact with the plates) to be formed after the jar precursoris cut to the desired cell jar height.

FIG. 8 shows a lead-acid cell 80 according to the present invention. Ablow-molded jar 82 has a cover 84 sealed thereto, as by heat sealing orthe like. A series of positive plates 86 having lugs 88 are connectedvia strap 90 to positive terminal 92. Similarly, negative plates 94 areconnected via lugs 96 to strap 98 and to the negative terminal 100.Separator 102, together with the porous plates 86 and 92, holds theelectrolyte necessary for the desired electrical performance. For VRLAapplications, a bunsen valve 104 is provided to maintain the desiredinternal pressure during operation of the cell, while providing ventingin the event that the desired internal pressure is exceeded. All of thecomponents of the cell 80 are known as are various materials ofconstruction. The construction and materials of choice will beprincipally determined by the type of cell used. VRLA cells thus use,for expanded, thicker, more absorbent separators than employed inflooded electrolyte cells. Any configuration and materials desired maybe used.

As is seen in FIG. 2, the jar 16 has corners (indicated at 18) which areessentially the same as the wall thickness about the jar. By thusmaintaining the wall thickness essentially the same, as can be done byconventional blow molding technology, heat sealing or otherwise joiningthe cover to the jar can be conveniently carried out. This may requiresuitably altering the parison shape so that sufficient material willreach the corner portions of the jar precursor, such alterations beingwithin the knowledge of those in this field. Blow molded jars can thusprovide nearly the same internal dimensions as an injection molded jar.

The jar may be provided with rest-ups, if desired. FIG. 7 shows oneexample of a design suitable for such rest-ups or bridge. As is known,this is unnecessary in flooded electrolyte configurations where eitherenveloped separators are used, or where the plates are spaced by feetabove the bottom of the jar.

Thus, as may be appreciated, the present invention provides the abilityto deal with a variety of applications with minimum tooling while stillproviding cells having widely varying performance characteristics.Indeed, by utilizing the present invention, the capital and inventoryrequirements to satisfy a wide variety of industrial cell/batteryapplications have been significantly lessened. Even further, theseadvantages are achieved while obviating problems arising from approachesfor making the necessary jars that have previously been used.

We claim:
 1. A method for making a plurality of lead-acid cellsrequiring a cell jar with a constant width, a height varying from amaximum to a minimum to accommodate plates of varying height and a celldepth to accommodate a minimum to a maximum number of plates, whichcomprises selecting the jar width, blow molding a jar precursor havingsaid constant width and the cell depth selected and said maximum height,selecting the jar height required for the particular application andcutting the jar precursor to said jar height to form the jar, assemblinga cell element into said jar, and joining a cover to said jar.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said jar has opposing walls having a ribbingpattern presenting uniform outer dimensions and decreased internaldimensions sufficient to provide a desired plate-to-plate spacing. 3.The method of claim 1 wherein said jar has opposing walls having aribbing pattern sufficient to prevent bulging of the walls of the jar inuse.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said jar has walls having auniform thickness and said cover is heat-sealed to said jar.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 which includes providing a mold and a plurality ofinserts yielding depths for the jar in which the number of plates can bevaried from a minimum to a maximum and selecting the mold or a mold andinserts that yield the required depth for the blow molded jar precursor.6. The method of claim 5 wherein the depth of the jar precursor isselected to provide a minimum number of plates and no insert isselected.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein said jar has walls having aribbing pattern indented in at least two of the walls and horizontallypositioned lifting ledges indented in said walls.
 8. The method of claim1 which includes blow molding a jar precursor having a series of aribbing pattern indented in at least two of the walls and horizontallypositioned lifting ledges indented in said walls, the respective seriesbeing spaced from each other along the height of the jar precursor andbeing located such that each series is adapted for use with a cell jarcut to a different height.
 9. The method of claim 1 in which the jarprecursor is blow molded to provide a plurality of inwardly steppedportions, each of said stepped portions positioned to provide steppedupper walls of a cut jar of a different height.